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Location Author: PETER GWYNNE Having survived a spring and summer of discontent, two manifestations of science humor have emerged in a new location. Their efforts to laugh at-and with-science, scientists, and everything associated with them proceed unabated, to the general relief of some Nobel laureates and others who like their science spiced with satire. STAR-STUDDED SPINOFF: AIR board member Karen Hopkin's "Studmuffins of Science" calendar features researcher models like Brian Scottolini o

By the end of next year, United States Department of Energy researchers hope to build a new computer powerful enough to engage in virtual nuclear explosions so realistic that real-world bomb tests could become obsolete. The computer-development project responds to President Bill Clinton's call for a "science-based stockpile stewardship program" to maintain a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear deterrent without underground testing. Key to the proposed simulation approach to testing will be crea

Commitment To Discovery Author: MYRNA E. WATANABE Junk bonds were the financial cause célèbre in the 1980s, but in the mid-'90s, the mega-merger-in media, banking, or pharmaceuticals-has taken center stage. Although it may be argued that all such deals revolve around the bottom line, profits, and increased stock prices, for drug companies, the directions they follow as a result of these monster corporate pairings take on an added dimension: Lives depend upon the drugs they manufacture.

Efforts Author: KAREN YOUNG KREEGER Sidebar: Sequence of Events A $20 million federal civil suit filed by a biotechnology startup charges that a Columbia University researcher associated with the company breached his duties as a corporate official by helping to place complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries he developed into the public domain rather than with the firm. The case, which at press time had been scheduled for trial November 17, adds another chapter to the often-tumultuous saga of these

The following time line, detailing events relating to Genome Technologies' suit against Bento Soares and cDNA sequencing efforts in general, was culled from interviews conducted by The Scientist as well as information contained in court pleadings, statements, and media reports. The Integrated Molecular Analysis of Genome Expression (IMAGE) Consortium forms as an informal, ad hoc collaboration among colleagues to freely share complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries. The consortium is started by Greg

While scientists and bioethicists work out their relative contributions to ethical debates, both say that many of the most important issues will eventually be resolved by yet another professional group-lawyers. The regulations and policy guidelines produced by various federal panels and commissions are often largely written by lawyer members. In addition, researchers and ethicists say that, given the social and economic realities of present-day society, new laws will be needed to fully guarante

The pressures of practicing science in the 1990s are taking their toll on researchers in the United States and throughout the world. Some of the evidence is clear: rising unemployment and underemployment, as well as ferocious competition for rapidly dwindling resources. Other signs, scientists say, are less obvious --increased research misconduct, sexual discrimination, disrupted family and personal lives, and the creation of "serial postdocs" with less and less of a chance of ever obtaining a

The biotechnology industry has shown signs recently of recovering from the doldrums of the past year, which encompassed a wave of consolidations, layoffs, and a critical cash crunch. However, as some indications arise that biotech as a whole is starting to regain investor confidence, industry analysts say that the agricultural biotech sector seems to be lagging. Ag biotech observers, including scientists in both business and academia, agree that the industry's growth has been hampered by regul

if (n == null) The Scientist - Growth In Untenured Academic Science Jobs Seen Hurting Careers The Scientist 9[18]:1, Sep. 18, 1995 News Growth In Untenured Academic Science Jobs Seen Hurting Careers By Franklin Hoke The proportion of poorly paid, temporary jobs in academic science is growing, while the share of full-time, tenured positions is declining, according to researchers and observers of university employment practices. The chance that a new Ph.D.

Despite well-publicized, lucrative licensing deals, most university technology experts find that patenting and licensing inventions is a process laden with potential pitfalls. While universities claim that the investment is generally worthwhile for a number of reasons, the challenge, many specialists say, is choosing the right project and matching it with the right industry at the right time. Patents often languish, investments frequently sour. The fact is, for every income-earning patent, mil

On The Decline Author: Neeraja Sankaran The time-honored tradition of visiting professorships -- invitations extended to faculty taking sabbaticals from their own institutions to teach and do research here -- will once again be in evidence as schools reopen in the fall. As throngs of students return to their classrooms and laboratories, they may find that certain familiar faces are missing or replaced by new ones, or that there are new names and courses listed in the fall directories. The pra

Cal Takes The Field For ALSPrized Pizza The Digital MerckThe Whole Kit And Kaboodle Immortal GenesIndia Joins MacArthur Leaders Extraordinary ExpeditionsTourette Training Grants On September 6, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. broke the consecutive-games-played record of 2,130 set by Lou Gehrig, the New York Yankees first-baseman who died in 1941 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- now known as Lou Gehrig's disease. To honor Gehrig, 260 one-time, $5,000 seats were sold along